"[T]oday Obama did more than make that logical step. He let go of fear. He is clearly prepared to let the political chips fall as they may. That's why we elected him. That's the change we believed in. The contrast with a candidate who wants to abolish all rights for gay couples by amending the federal constitution, and who has donated to organizations that seek to 'cure' gays, who bowed to pressure from bigots who demanded the head of a spokesman on foreign policy solely because he was gay: how much starker can it get? My view politically is that this will help Obama. He will be looking to the future generations as his opponent panders to the past. The clearer the choice this year the likelier his victory. And after the darkness of last night, this feels like a widening dawn."- Andrew Sullivan
Further, Rachael Maddow makes the case that Obama has had the most pro-gay policies in history, and now his official personal views are in synch with those. Watch this highly informative segment from last night's show:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Finally, I share these moving words from Charles Blow about Obama's decision today:
There is no wrong time to do the right thing. But the calculation of delay can erode the virtue of acting on what your conscience is telling you. The courage required in the present is greater than the comforts afforded by the future.
Not everyone will be happy. Important positions are not always popular. But they are necessary. Leaders with vision understand this.
As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable.” In fact,
Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.
Risking the objection of some supporters is part of the sacrifice. But King also said that “a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
I don’t know about you, but I prefer leadership from leaders.
It is a natural impulse of all people to live freely in their own truth. President Obama yesterday lent his voice to affirming the basic humanity of gay and lesbian communities.
Standing up for what one truly believes is one of the greatest things a person can do. And, in the end, I believe that most Americans respect the courage of conviction and the pursuit of fairness, even if they have not come to accept same-sex marriage or even homosexuality.
Courage in politics isn’t always plentiful, and justice in the world isn’t always swift. Could Obama have moved more quickly? Maybe. But the important thing to remember is that he did move.
Amen. Forward -- let's re-elect Barack Obama and make this country a more perfect Union./Joe
No comments:
Post a Comment